During his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump made countless offensive remarks about Muslim people, and it’s unlikely he’s changed his tune since he’s tried to cozy up to Israel by doing things like declaring Jerusalem, the heavily divided holy city, as Israel’s capital. Tel Aviv had been the small country’s capital for decades and this move added to the tensions between Palestine and Israel.

Then there’s President Joe Biden, who has continued to support the Israeli offensive in Gaza, where more than 37,000 people have been killed, The Associated Press reports. This means, of course, lots of folks of the Muslim faith are not fond of Biden at this point in time.

And who can blame them, when many have family in that tormented region, who are dying as I write this? Don’t get me wrong, I still think Biden is a far better president than Trump, but really folks, this is seriously effed up.

And now it looks like Trump and his allies may be meddling in this already complicated situation again. One of Trump’s emissaries to Arab Americans is a Lebanese-born businessman who moved to Texas while still a teenager. Massad Boulos, who is the father-in-law of Trump’s usually-forgotten daughter, Tiffany, speaks Arabic, English, and French. His son, Michael, recently joined the Trump family when he married the former president’s younger daughter on November 12, 2022.

Massad Boulos has taken on the difficult task of trying to convince Arab Americans, who are politically influential and not particularly happy with Biden, that somehow Trump is a better option. But many of these people believe Trump is more pro-Israel than Biden and it isn’t lost on them that he’s made a series of comments and policy announcements that critics blast as Islamophobic.

Massad Boulos has taken on the challenge of trying to convince a politically influential community angry at President Joe Biden that Trump is a better option. But many Arab Americans also note Trump has positioned himself as more pro-Israel than Biden and has made a series of comments and policy announcements that critics blast as Islamophobic.

As we know by now, Trump is fond of hiring family members and their relatives in top positions in his campaigns and the White House. Now it seems to be Boulos’s turn and he’s using long-standing connections in an effort to sore up support for Trump’s 2024 campaign.

Some Trump allies hope to capitalize on dissension within Biden’s Democratic ranks in connection with his continued support of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Biden faced a sizable protest vote during the Michigan primary in February, where some areas are home to large numbers of Arab Americans, who serve as an important Democratic bloc.

So this ought to be fun. We have a sort of “dueling banjos” with Democrats on one side, Republicans on the other, and very vulnerable people in the middle. It’s a wonder some Palestinians don’t begin to feel like a piece of meat between greedy carnivores.

However this situation works out, Boulos has a genial personality and expertise in politics in his home country. Born in Lebanon, he moved to Texas where he attended the University of Houston and earned a doctor of jurisprudence degree. He said he actively participated in Republican politics while a student.

After graduating, he joined his family’s business which has lasted for three generations where he became the managing director and CEO of the conglomerate SCOA Nigeria, which manufactures and distributes motor vehicles and equipment.

As far as his background in politics in the Middle East, he ran unsuccessfully for a parliamentary seat in Lebanon in 2009. He’s friends with a high-level Christian politician who is allied with the Shiite party and the militant group Hezbollah. This person is also Hezbollah’s endorsed candidate for Lebanon’s presidential vacancy.

Boulos is a longtime Trump supporter, but he’s taken a more active role lately after meeting Trump during a White House Christmas party in 2019. His son was dating Tiffany Trump at the time.

While he hasn’t recently donated to the Trump campaign, according to campaign finance records, he did recently travel to Michigan earlier this month, where he attended what he calls a “private fundraising event” that was also attended by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, (R-La.), Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), and at least 50 Arab Americans.

Boulos also helped with Trump’s 2020 campaign, but his presence is looming larger since his son married Tiffany Trump in 2022. Since Arab American discontent with Biden has been growing, Trump allies think this could be a political opportunity.

“One less vote for Biden is a vote for Trump,” said Bishara Bahbah, chairman of the group Arab Americans for Trump, and Bahbah noted Boulos maintains a”very close working relationship with the group.”

So I hope the Biden campaign is paying attention to this. Especially as his administration keeps supporting Israel. I understand he’s in a difficult position here, but this could backfire.

And we know what happened in 2016. We don’t need a repeat.